Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Every year at this time I enjoy looking at style in movies that celebrate the holidays. In the past, this has included The Thin Man (1934), The Man Who Came to Dinner (1942), and White Christmas (1954). Anyone who knows me knows how much I love film noir, so last year I looked at 1947's Lady in the Lake. These tributes are always accompanied by a Classic Holidays playlist I share on GlamAmor's YouTube channel, which is is filled with films, clips, and even radio programs from earlier eras. This Christmas I have chosen to cover a holiday film that I've come to know and love in the past few years - 1947's It Happened On Fifth Avenue.

It Happened on Fifth Avenue is centered on a homeless man named Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore) who takes over a vacant mansion in New York each winter. This Christmas he helps Army veteran Jim Bullock (Don DeFore) and his friends who struggle with their own housing. What makes the movie such fun is that - unbeknownst to anyone - the actual owners of the mansion become part of the ragtag group who now inhabits it. Some of the charm of the story stems from watching this wealthy family evolve through the experience. For a lesser known picture, these characters are played by an incredible cast and are well known to classic film fans. The movie is led by Moore, who many love in the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers musical Swing Time. The affluent O'Connor family (who pose as anything but) is made up of Charlie Ruggles, Ann Harding, and Gale Storm. And other character actors include the always good Alan Hale, Jr., Grant Mitchell, and Edward Brophy.

This period of time is one of my favorite for film - the reason being that it is right after World War II. I love movies that look at these post-war years and the challenges that servicemen faced when returning to America. William Wyler's The Best Years of Our Lives may have done this best of all. It Happened on Fifth Avenue's own storyline starts with Bullock being kicked out of an apartment and then welcomed into McKeever's creative housing solution. Several of Bullock's war buddies soon enter the picture with their families - all with housing challenges of their own.

The post-World War II storyline extends to the costumes as well. For those who don't know, much of 1940s style came as the result of rationing that happened during the war. This is the reason for the functional and rather austere feel of much of the era's clothing. You simply weren't allowed to use a great deal of fabric. The length and circumference of skirts, for instance, were dictated by a government regulation. Though It Happened on Fifth Avenue was made after rationing had ended, styles had not changed that much. That seismic shift came in February 1947 courtesy of Christian Dior and his "New Look," a collection that included longer fuller skirts and ushered in the over-the-top femininity of the 1950s. It Happened on Fifth Avenue premiered in April of that year, but was in production well before that date and its costumes still reflect much of World War II style.

This leads to one of the reasons I wanted to share It Happened on Fifth Avenue - its costume designer Lorraine MacLean. Clearly she is not as well known as someone like Edith Head, and it's important to remember that the Hollywood studio system was filled with many unsung heroes just like her. Lorraine is interesting because she started her career as an actress, similar to costume designers Irene and Orry-Kelly. She actually went farther as an actress than those two and appeared in movies like Love Shy (1928) and Fools for Scandal (1938) with Carole Lombard. After her time on screen, Lorraine moved behind the camera to the makeup department and then onto costume design. She eventually became the studio stylist for Monogram Pictures and Allied Artists. It Happened on Fifth Avenue was the first production from Allied Artists, the unit that Monogram built for bigger and better productions from the "Poverty Row" studio. You'll see that Lorraine stepped up to the challenge with her costume design. Gale Storm's wardrobe, in particular, is filled with plenty of winter coat inspiration and classic pieces that would still be stylish today.

It Happened on Fifth Avenue is such a perfect holiday movie. It has lovely messages about family - both those that are blood-related and those people that we choose to be in our lives. It also has great inspiration about entrepreneurship and designing your own destiny. Of course it also has plenty of romance and a sweet fairy tale feel to the movie that just makes you feel good. It's become a classic that I must see every holiday and hope you enjoy it, too. Merry Christmas!

Home sweet home -

the O'Connor mansion is the winter residence of Aloysius T. McKeever (Victor Moore)